Ark Undead

"Yes, keep up."

"Ok!"

The blonde idiot grinned foolishly, clutching the cloak behind the undead.

It was already afternoon, and dark clouds were gathering in the sky.

Amidst the light snowfall and gentle breeze, the two embarked on their journey.

What awaits us ahead?

No one knows.

But they just need to keep going, one step at a time.

Volume Three: The Traveller's Tale of Terra, End of the Sherag Chapter.

87. Life and Rivers

As the ice and snow melt, spring returns to the earth.

After leaving the snowy realm, the Undead led Kroos out of the snowfield and into a vast wasteland.

The locations where these countries established their capitals were actually quite strategic.

It's really impossible to establish a country in an ordinary place, since food and terrain are the most important factors.

The Undead himself didn't care much. After all, he didn't need to eat or drink; he just needed to keep moving forward.

As for Kroos, the girl had also learned what patience was during her previous journeys.

It's common for her to go for several days without eating. As long as she realizes that there's nothing to eat right now, she won't complain to the Undead about being hungry.

However, occasionally the immortals can still use their superhuman senses to help Kroos find the whereabouts of some of the cubs.

Kroos was just like a dog; as soon as someone pointed at her, she would alertly run over and raise the axe in her hand.

Sometimes, when you're unlucky, you can only catch small rabbits or sandworms.

Sometimes you might encounter big guys, like wild wolves in the wilderness.

Then Kroos carried his prey back, looked up, and stared expectantly at the Undead.

If these prey have obvious signs of Oripathy infection, such as crystals already showing on their skin.

The Undead would burn the corpse completely to ashes under Kroos's longing gaze.

"Waaah..."

Ceobe's ears droop down to her hair as a sign of her disappointment.

At this point, the Undead would usually reach out and touch Kroos's head, pointing her in another direction.

Kroos would then prick up its ears, raise its axe, and run off to bring back another prey.

If it's still early, the Undead will carry their prey on their shoulders and walk forward with the Kroos.

Only at night do the Undead light fires in the wasteland.

The withered grass and dry firewood we found along the way were the best materials for our livelihood.

As the sunlight gradually sank into the earth, the temperature turned cold.

The Undead will take out the spiraling longsword hanging at their waist, and Kroos will put down the firewood she carries on her back.

"One, one."

Kroos followed the Undead's example, neatly arranging the firewood, then looked up at the Undead, waiting for the moment when he would insert the spiral sword into the center.

Once the spiral sword is inserted into the ground, flames will ignite from the cracks in the ground, quickly setting the firewood ablaze.

This time of day is the moment Kroos looks forward to the most.

She would first warm her hands and feet in front of the fire, and only after she had warmed herself up would she turn to look at the Undead.

Because they can't cook, the Undead will hand over their prey to Kroos so she can handle it herself.

Kroos skillfully stripped the fur from his prey, arranged it neatly, and waited for the Undead to collect the fur.

Occasionally, they might pass through villages in the wilderness and exchange these furs for some food from the local villagers.

Once the fur has been neatly peeled off, the crocodile will then proceed to neatly cut the meat off the prey and place it piece by piece aside.

This was a method of food planning that Kroos had learned on his own. If he couldn't hunt every day, he could save today's food and eat the meat of the game he had hunted that day the next day.

Once the meat was divided, Kroos would use the spear on his back to skewer the pieces and roast them over the fire.

Although they are all Kroos's good friends, good friends certainly wouldn't stand by and watch Kroos go hungry, right?

When the aroma of meat wafts out, Kroos will stare at the meat in the fire and drool.

The first two times, Kroos took out the meat that was just charred on the outside and ate it.

Snapped!

Then someone will give her a righteous chop to the head and confiscate the meat from her hands.

You must wait until it's fully baked and cut open with a knife; no obvious blood should seep out from inside.

After all, this is the wilderness, and any virus could potentially appear on the prey. If we are not careful, there could be problems.

However, roasting meat with this primal, magical fire originating from Izalith...

Is it really possible for viruses to still be present in meat?

In short, once Kroos gets to eat meat, she will take a big bite.

"Hoohoo!"

Then he widened his eyes, puffed out his cheeks, and kept blowing air out because it was so hot.

After Kroos has taken a couple of bites, she will hand the meat in her hand to the Undead.

The Undead shook his head, and only then did Kroos continue eating.

Although the result was the same every time, the Kroos roast meat was always handed to the Undead.

For her, this must have been a habit, a habit of sharing food with her friends.

After eating his fill, Kroos will soon feel sleepy.

The golden dog would run close to the undead, put down its coat, and lie on the ground with its head resting on the bundle.

At first, Kroos had the habit of carrying her weapon, but gradually she learned to put it away at night.

And so, in this dark wasteland, there was an awake, armored monster, a silly little girl, and a burning campfire, crackling with the sound of firewood.

Oh, right, and the sky was filled with stars that appeared and disappeared.

For them, the boundless wilderness was merely a part of their journey.

Finally, one day, they came to the vicinity of a large river.

In the past, the water sources they saw were just occasional streams or pools in the wasteland, which the undead purified by distilling with fire before drinking.

Today, this great river meanders from afar.

Many animals roamed around the river, some with dark purple crystalline patches on their bodies, others without.

Surprisingly, none of these animals attacked other animals when they were drinking near the river.

Even a wild wolf in the wilderness might have a fat rabbit standing next to it.

Kroos saw the water as a hungry dog ​​saw a bone.

She cheered and rushed into the river, splashing up sprays of water to wash away the filth from her body.

The animals around him were frightened, and involuntarily hissed and retreated in panic.

The Undead stood on the bank watching Kroos frolic in the river, but he didn't care.

When Kroos got tired of playing, she climbed out of the river, still wet.

"Ceobe! Take a bath! Done!"

Kroos hopped and skipped over to the Undead, a silly grin on his face.

"..."

The Undead pointed at Kroos, he said.

"Take it off."

So Ceobe obediently took off his coat and trousers.

The taciturn undead raised his right hand, and a soft flame rose from it, radiating a warm glow in the air.

Spell (Warm Fire)

This is a spell that the Undead obtained after defeating a maddened Undead.

Strangely, this was supposed to be a spell from an evil cult called the Accumulators, which required believers to offer up human spines, representing life, in order to obtain it.

However, the Undead often used it when resting with their comrades after learning it.

The warmth of the flames can slowly restore a person's strength.

Perhaps, the flame of longing for family eventually gathers around family members.

Kroos sat by the fire, warming herself. The Undead maintained the flames while picking up Kroos's clothes and using his ability to control the fire to quickly dry them.

"Well..."

Kroos squinted, looking quite content, almost sticking out his tongue.

The hair on her head slowly dried in the warm flames, regaining its original golden luster.

Once the clothes had dried, Kroos put them back on.

It was getting late.

The Undead simply lit a campfire on the spot and spent the night near the river.

Once the campfire was lit, Kroos patted his shrunken belly and took out the stored pieces of meat from his pack.

During the baking process, curious animals will come over.